Clips useful in the medical field

ABSTRACT

Spring clip of nontoxic plastic material for medical use consisting of an integral one-piece body having two similar rigid arms, one superimposed over the other, which are joined together intermediately by a resilient waist piece acting as a fulcrum, the adjacent pair of arm ends at one extremity being mating gripping jaws, the other pair of ends being usable for finger operation for pressing together so as to open the jaws, and a spring interposed between the finger-pressing ends to force the jaw ends together, when the finger pressure is relaxed, into a mutual gripping position.

United States Patent Inventor Lucien Julienne Arthur Jonckheere 88 The Gardens, Bedfont, Middlesex, England Appl. No. 816,291

Filed Apr. 15, 1969 Patented May 25, 1971 Priority May 30, 1968 Great Britain 26012/68 CLIPS USEFUL IN THE MEDICAL FIELD 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 24/252, 128/346 Int. Cl A44b 21/00, A61 b 17/08 Field of Search 24/225 (60), 252 (GC), 252 (TC), 252 (DQ), 252 (HC), 252 (CP), 255 (TU), 255 (H), 255 (J), 137.5, 137; 132/46, 46.1, 48; 128/346 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,002,001 5/1935 Beard 24/ 1 37.5 2,749,920 6/1956 Kriesman et a1. 24/252HC 3,247,852 4/1966 Schneider 128/346 3,250,282 5/1966 Thatcher..... 132/461 3,279,479 10/ l 966 Solomon 24/252HC F ORElGN PATENTS 588,854 6/ 1947 Great Britain 24/137.5

Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorneys-Emory L. Groff and Emory L. Groff, Jr.

CLIPS USEFUL IN THE MEDICAL FIELD The present invention relates to clips and in particular to clips of a type that may be formed substantially from suitable nontoxic plastics materials, and thus rendering them particularly useful in the medical field, although not limited to such application.

The invention relates specifically to a clip of the form comprising a single body of synthetic resinous plastic material consisting of two opposed elongated members and a bridge piece locally uniting the members intermediately along the lengths thereof to serve as a fulcrum, two adjacent end parts of the members being finger grips and the other end parts of the members being jaws, the bridge piece having a concave arcuate face merging into opposing faces of the finger grips, and a generally V-shape leaf spring located between the finger grips with the apex of the V-shape adjacent that arcuate face and the limbs of the V-shape spring extending in engagement with said opposing faces to force the finger grips apart and thereby rock the members in opposite senses about the bridge piece, as the fulcrum, to force the jaws into mutual engagement.

In accordance with the invention, said concave arcuate face of the bridge piece extends through more than 180 to form a reentrant recess with intumed extremities, the apex of the V-v shape spring is a loop which is arcuate through more than 180 and of diameter greater than a gap between, and defined by, the extremities of the reentrant recess, the loop is positioned within the reentrant recess with the limbs of the V-shape spring extending therefrom through the gap, and the finger grips are formed in said opposed faces thereof with longitudinal channels extending, away from the bridge piece, beyond the ends of the limbs of the spring which extend in the channels.

The clip may be formed of any suitable plastics material such as nylon or polypropylene, or any thermoplastic material in any suitable manner e.g. injection moulding.

The leaf spring may be formed of metal or of a suitable plastics material possessing the required natural springiness. Such a suitable plastics material is an acetal" plastics resin.

One embodiment of a clip according to the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side elevation of the clip;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the clip;

FIG. 3 shows a side elevation of a spring for use in the clip illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 shows a section on line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the clip consists of a body formed of for example nylon, having two arms I and 2 linked by a flexible and resilient waisted section 3 acting as a fulcrum. The ends 4 and 5 of the arms I and 2 respectively are formed as mating jaws of the clip whilst the opposite ends 6 and 7 constituting finger grips are longitudinally recessed at I0 along their inner facing sides to provide means for holding a spring 9 (see particularly FIGS. 3 and 4) and the respective outside surfaces 8 of the arms are preferably milled or knurled. The

2 spring 9 in the embodiment is a V-shape leaf spring with the legs of the V housed respectively in the recesses 10. To assist in holding the spring firmly the waisted section 3 is bow shaped, i.e. arcuate at least on one side, so as to hold snugly the looped middle of the spring 9. When the spring 9 is in place the jaws 4 and 5 of the clip are forced together as the arm ends 6 and 7 are forced apart and, as will be obvious, to open the clip, the finger grips 6 and 7 are pinched together.

The clips of the invention find numerous uses and in particular are of application in the medical field, for example in surgery in the clamping of arteries, for renal dialysis units and wherever clips-are found necessary since by virtue of their fabrication in suitable plastics materials they are nontoxic and can be easily sterilized.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the looped middle part or apex of the spring 9 is an arcuate loop 11 extending through more than 180. It is also indicated in FIGS. I and 4 that the waisted section 3 is concave and arcuate through more than l80 at the face thereof presented towards the finger grips 6,7, thus providing a reentrant recess with intumed extremities from which extend the inner surfaces of the longitudinal recesses 10 in the inner facing sides of the finger grips 6,7. It is also shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 that the loop 11 has a diameter greater than the gap between the intumed extremities of the reentrant recess, that the legs of the spring 9 extend through that gap into the longitudinal recesses 10 and engage the finger grips 6,7 within the recesses 10 which continue, beyond the extreme ends of the legs of the spring 9, throughout the complete lengths of the finger grips 6,7.

Iclaim:

l. A clip comprising a single body of synthetic resinous plastic material consisting of two opposed elongated members and a bridge piece locally uniting the members intermediately along the lengths thereof to serve as a fulcrum, two adjacent ends of the members being finger grips and the other end parts of the members being jaws, the bridge piece having a concave arcuate face merging into the opposing faces of the finger grips, and a generally V-shape leaf spring located between the finger grips with the apex of the V-shape adjacent that arcuate face and the limbs of the V-shape spring extending in engagement with said opposing faces to force the finger grips apart and thereby rock the members in opposite senses about the bridge piece, as the fulcrum, to force the jaws into mutual engagement, wherein said concave arcuate face of the bridge piece extends through more than to form a reentrant recess with inturned extremities the apex of the V-shape spring is a loop which is arcuate through more than 180 and of diameter greater than the gap between, and defined by, the extremities of the reentrant recess, the loop is positioned within the reentrant recess with the limbs of the V-shape spring extending therefrom through the gap, and the finger grips are formed in said opposed faces thereof with longitudinal channels extending, away from the bridge piece, beyond the ends of the limbs of the spring which extend in the channels. 

1. A clip comprising a single body of synthetic resinous plastic material consisting of two opposed elongated members and a bridge piece locally uniting the members intermediately along the lengths thereof to serve as a fulcrum, two adjacent ends of the members being finger grips and the other end parts of the members being jaws, the bridge piece having a concave arcuate face merging into the opposing faces of the finger grips, and a generally V-shape leaf spring located between the finger grips with the apex of the V-shape adjacent that arcuate face and the limbs of the V-shape spring extending in engagement with said opposing faces to force the finger grips apart and thereby rock the members in opposite senses about the bridge piece, as the fulcrum, to force the jaws into mutual engagement, wherein said concave arcuate face of the bridge piece extends through more than 180* to form a reentrant recess with inturned extremities the apex of the V-shape spring is a loop which is arcuate through more than 180* and of diameter greater than the gap between, and defined by, the extremities of the reentrant recess, the loop is positioned within the reentrant recess with the limbs of the Vshape spring extending therefrom through the gap, and the finger grips are formed in said opposed faces thereof with longitudinal channels extending, away from the bridge piece, beyond the ends of the limbs of the spring which extend in the channels. 